Separator for cartridge cartons



SEPARATOR FOR CARTRIDGE CARTONS Fil ed Aug. 8, 1941 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 ATTORNEY.

April 18, 1944 E SEPARATOR FOR CARTRIDGE CARTONS Filed Aug. 8, 1941 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 fillllm llf lw Fig. 8.

3 z a m fZ/G'ENEB. R165 7 INVENTOR.

" ATTORNE".

Patented Apr. '18, 1944 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE SEPARATOR FOR CARTRIDGE CARTONS Eugene B. Rice, Denver, Colo.

Application August 8, 1941, Serial No. 405,933

4 Claims. 1 (Cl. 229-28) This invention relates to improvements in separators for cartridge cartons.

In arsenals where large numbers of cartridges are manufactured, as, for example, in ammunition factories supplying ammunition for the war and navy departments, the loaded cartridges or shells are packed in cartons containing twenty cartridges. The cartridges must be separated from each other by cardboard, or other suitable material so that they will resist rough handling without injury. To provide suitable cartons it is necessary to devise a simple and satisfactory separator.

It is the object of this invention to produce a simple cardboard separator that can be readily made and assembled by machinery in order that large numbers may be made in a comparatively short time.

Another object is to produce a separator that can be made from the cheapest kind of cardboard in order to reduce the cost of material to a minimum.

A further object is to produce a separator of such a design that it can be fully assembled at the factory and which can be shipped fiat or in knocked down condition to simplify packing and conserve space.

Another object of this invention is to provide a spacer having a plurality of tongues projecting in parallel spaced relation from opposite sides thereof and in which the tongues are provided with means for resisting movement in one direction and for assisting and holding the tongues in operative position.

The above and other objects that may become apparent as this description proceeds are attained by means of a construction and an arrangement of parts that will now be described in detail, and reference for this purpose will be had to the. accompanying drawings in which the invention has been illustrated, and in which:

Figure 1 is a perspective view, with parts broken away, showing a cartridge carton provided with my improved separator;

Figure 2'is a plan view of the separator showing the same. in the position it occupies. before it has been folded, the tongues being shown slightly inclined with respect to the plane of the Figure 4 is a side view of the separator after it has been folded and the tongues bent into perpendicular position;

Figure 5 is a top plan .view looking in the direction of arrow 5, Figure 4;

Figure 6 is a fragmentary: section taken on line 6-6, Figure 4;

Figure 7 is a transverse section taken on line T-l, Figure 6;

Figure 8 is a View similar to that shown in Figure 2, but shows a slightly modified form of the invention;

Figure 9 is a view looking in the direction of arrow 9' in Figure 8 and shows an. end view of the separator at the beginning of the folding operation;

Figure 10- is a; section taken on line Ill-Ill, Figure 11; and

Figure 11 is a section taken on line H, Figure 10.

In the drawings, reference numeral l5' designates a cardboard carton of the type employed for packing cartridges. The carton is of usual construction and has merely been shown for the purpose of more clearly describing the separator which embodies the present invention.

The separator is formed from a rectangular sheet of cardboard which has been designated by reference numeral IS in Figure 2 and this is divided into two equal portions A and B by means of a score'line' I! that extends across. the same atits middle point. On each side of the score line are positioned a plurality of tongues l8 which are out along three sides from the rectangular sheet by means of dies. In the embodiment illustrated, the edges ['9 of the tongues are straight and perpendicular to the median line I! and have rounded corners 20. The other edges of the tongues are not completely severed from the sheet, but. are only partly severed. so as to be readily bendable about the line 21 that has. been shown dotted. The hinged edges of the tongues are provided with ears 22' that are cut on three sides and which are therefore free to turn about the hinged connection. whenever the tongues l'8 are 'so turned. The tongues are spaced apart a distance equalto the'diameter of the cartridge with which the. separator is to be employed. After the r paper sheethas been cut. as indicated in Figure 2,, it is. bent about the median line IT, as. shown inFigure 3,. until. the sidesoi the.- parts AkandlB come. into contact. The. contacting surfaces are preferably provided with adhesive at least along that portion which is below the tongues when viewed as in Figure 2. After the cardboard has been folded, it assumes the position shown in Figures '4 and 5, from which it will be observed that the tongues l8 extend outwardly at right angles to the doubled sheet assembly and has the appearance shown in perspective in Figure 1.

Referring now more particularly to Figures 4 and '7, it will be seen that the tongues are only partially separated from the sheets along the lines 2'! and that they can therefore be folded around this weakened portion without causing them to separate from the sheet. The ears 22 extend through the sheet to which they are integrally connected and project over onto the other sheet and therefore if the tongue l8, shown to the right in Figure 7, is subjected to a force tending to turn it in a clockwise direction, this turning force will be resisted by the action of the ear 22. It will also be apparent from Figure '7, that the tongue l8 to the right in this figure can be turned counterclockwise until it comes into engagement with the outer surface of sheet B and in a like manner the tongue [8 on the left can be turned clockwise until it comes into contact with the outer surface of the sheet A.

Duringshipment, the tongues US ar turned so as to lie against the outer surfaces of the sheets to which they are hingedly attached. The opening formed by the removal of tongues l8 has been designated for convenience by reference numeral After'the separator has been constructed in the manner described, it is inserted into a carton and divides the latter into two longitudinally extending chambers that are separated by the sheets A and B and these two chambers are each subdivided into ten cartridge compartments by the tongues l8.

Particular attention is called to the operation and function of the ears 22 which serve as stops for limiting the movement of the tongues into a coplanar position with respect to the. sheet to which they are attached. Since the ears 22 are integral with the tongues and are longer than the thickness of the material, it is evident that whenever the tongues are bent into an angular position with respect to the sheet to which they are attached, the ears will project from the other side of the sheet in the manner shown in Figure 3.',' 1

In the embodiment illustrated in Figures 1 to 6, the tongues I8 project from the outer surfaces of the sheets A and B to which they are attached and are held in substantially perpendicular position by the action of the ears 22. Due to the resiliency of the material, the tongues have a tendency to assume the position shown in Figure 7, even after they have for a long time been folded into engagement with'the outer surfaces of the sheets'to which they are attached, as they are when shipped from the manufacturing plant to the munition factory;

Attention is directed to the great simplicity of this construction and to the fact that the separator can be made from the cheapest kind of cardboard, thereby efiecting a marked saving in the cost "of the material.

In Figures '8, 9, 10 and 11, a slightly modified form of the invention has been illustrated. In this modification the cardboard blank I6 is of the same size and shape as that shown in Figure 2 and is provided with a median score line H. Each of the parts A and B have cut from the-material tongues l8a of the same size and shape as the tongues l8 shown in Figure 2. The tongues are attached to their respective sheets along lines H in the same manner as has already been explained. Each tongue is also provided with an ear 2211 that corresponds to the ear 22 shown in Figure 2. It will be observed, however, that the ears 2212 do not entirely sever the material that separates the openings 23, although they can do so without intefering in'any waywith the construction or operation of the separator. After the tongues have been cut, they are bent outwardly through an angle somewhat greater than ninety degrees, after which the two parts A and B are folded about the'median line in the direction indicated in Figure 9 from which it will be seen that the tongues approach the opposite part of the separator during the bending operation. As

the bending is continued until the tongues [8a. overlap and until the two parts A and B of the sheet l6 come into actual contact, the tongues on one sheet will pass through the corresponding opening in the other sheet as shown most clearly in Figure 11. The tongues are so positioned and proportioned that they come into contact with;

each other when the separator has been folded in the manner shown in Figure 11, from which it will also be seen that the ends 22a project to the left and serve as stops for the tongues that extend through the openings 23.- The presence of the ears 22a assures that the tongues will always extend substantially perpendicularly from the sheet assembly. p H i It will be noted that the basic difference between the embodiment illustrated in Figures 1 to 6 and that illustrated in Figures 8 to 11, is that in the former embodiment, the tongues extend outwardly from the sheet to which they are attached and do not pass through the corresponding openings in the other sheet, whereas, inthe embodiment illustrated in Figures 8 to 11,the tongues extend inwardly from the sheets and pass through the corresponding openings in theother sheet. In the embodiment shown in Figure 2, the ears 22 are so short that they do not project .to the outside of the opposite sheet, but rest in the angular recess between the tongue and the sheet. to which it is attached as shown in Figure 7, whereas with the construction shown in Figures 8 to 11, the ears 22a can be of'any length and they project outwardly from the sheet to which they are attached instead of projecting inwardly from it. In both of the embodiments, the tongues are'provided with ears and the ears serve as stop means for holding the tongues in substantially perpendicular position with respect to the plan of the sheet assembly or separator Having described the invention what is claimed as new is: 1

1. A separator for use incartridge' cartons, comprising two sheets of cardboard arrangedin face contacting back to backrelation, at least one row of correspondinglypositioned tongues cut from each sheet, the tongues being hinged along spaced parallel fold lines forming a hinged connection at one end of the openings, the hinged connection on one sheet substantially coinciding with the hinged connection on the other sheet, each tongue being hinged to project from its respective sheet forming an opening, the rear portion of each tongue having an integral ear projecting therefrom, in the plane thereof, and extending through the opening in each sheet, the ear of each tongue on one-sheet contacting the corresponding tongue of the other sheet andforming means for holding each tongue in outwardly projecting position.

2. A separator for use in cartridge cartons, comprising two sheets of cardboard arranged in face contacting back to back relation, at least one row of correspondingly positioned tongues cut from each sheet, said tongues being hinged along spaced parallel fold lines forming a hinged connection at one side of the opening, the hinged connection on one sheet substantially coinciding with the hinged connection on the other sheet, each tongue being hinged to project from its respective sheet forming an opening, the rear portion of each tongue having an integral ear projecting therefrom, in the plane thereof, and extending through the opening in each sheet, the ear of each tongue on one sheet contacting the face of the corresponding tongue on the other sheet and forming means for holding each tongue in projecting position.

3. A separator for use in cartridge cartons, comprising two sheets of cardboard integrally connected along a fold line, arranged in face contacting back to back relation, at least one row of correspondingly positioned tongues cut from each sheet, the tongues being hinged along spaced parallel fold lines forming a hinged connection at one side of the openings, the hinged connection on one sheet substantially coinciding with the hinged connection on the other sheet,

each tongue being hinged to project from its respective sheet forming an opening, the rear portion of each tongue having an integral ear projecting therefrom in the plane thereof, and extending through the opening in each sheet, the ear of each tongue on one sheet contacting the corresponding tongue of the other sheet and forming means for holding each tongue in out- Wardl5 projecting position;

4. A separator for use in cartridge cartons, comprising two sheets of cardboard arranged in face contacting, back to back relation, at least one row of correspondingly positioned tongues cut from each sheet, the tongues being hinged along spaced parallel fold lines forming a hinged connection at one side of the openings, the hinged connection on one sheet substantially coinciding with the hinged connection on the other sheet, each tongue being hinged to project inwardly from its respective sheet forming an opening, the tongue on one sheet passing through the opening in the other sheet, each tongue contacting the face of the other tongue, an integral ear projecting from the rear portion of each tongue in the plane thereof, the ears contacting the face of the tongue on the other sheet and forming means for holding each tongue in outwardly projecting position.

EUGENE B. RICE. 

